The invention relates to an optical connector with two complementary connector halves, each connector half having a sleeve in which at least one optical fibre is mounted, and the sleeve being surrounded by an inner housing and the latter by an outer housing, the sleeve being arranged capable of axial movement in the inner housing under a spring force, and the inner housing being arranged capable of moving freely in the outer housing between two stops. An arrangement having the above-named features is known from WO94/24594. Coupling two optical connector halves requires a coupling sleeve which, firstly, serves to centre the two sleeves relative to one another and, secondly, to latch the inner housing with the coupling sleeve. The coupling sleeve is thus absolutely necessary for connecting two complementary connector halves to one another.
It is further known from WO94/24594 to fasten a connector half with the coupling sleeve to one backplane, while the second connector half is fastened to a daughter board, that is to say a board arranged perpendicular to the backplane.
An optical connector is likewise known from EP 430 107 B1. In this case, one connector half has, mounted in sleeves, optical fibres which are located in an inner housing which is surrounded by an outer housing and can be moved in the latter between two stops. The second connector half has optical fibres which are likewise mounted in sleeves and are located in an enveloping housing. The first connector half can be plugged with inner housing and outer housing into this enveloping housing. In this case, the latch between inner housing and outer housing is opened by means of an appropriate opening mechanism in the second connector half. At the same time, latching occurs between the inner housing and the second connector half. If the two connectors are to be separated from one another, there is located on the outer housing of the first connector half an opening mechanism for latching between the housing of the second connector half and the inner housing of the first connector half. In the case of the optical connectors described in EP 430 107 B1, similar connector halves can be coupled to one another only with the aid of a coupling sleeve.
It is the object of the invention to specify an optical connector which is composed of two complementary connector halves and can be used variably with or without a coupling sleeve.
The object is achieved by means of an arrangement having the characterizing features of Patent claim 1. Advantageous developments are specified in the subclaims. An optical connector according to the invention with two complementary connector halves has the following features: each connector half has a sleeve in which at least one optical fibre is mounted; the sleeve is surrounded by an inner housing and the latter is surrounded by an outer housing; in at least one connector half the sleeve is arranged capable of axial movement in the inner housing under a spring force; the inner housing is freely movable in the outer housing between two stops; the inner housing in each case bears latching means for latching on the inner housing of a complementary connector half; the outer housing is designed in such a way that it can be moved over the inner housing both in the plugged and in the non-plugged state; and the outer housing bears releasing means for opening the latching means of the associated inner housing.
It is possible using the optical connector according to the invention to connect two similarly designed connector halves to one another without providing a coupling sleeve.
It is particularly advantageous in this case if the outer housings and also the inner housings of the two connector halves are each of identical design. It is possible thereby to achieve a hermaphroditic configuration of the two connector halves. Such a configuration is particularly economical, since only one mould is required for each injection-moulded part, and there is no need for different moulds for each of the two complementary connector halves. The sleeve in which the optical fibres are mounted can have, for example, two centring openings or two centring pins and a multiplicity of optical fibre ends. Because of the centring by means of the centring openings and centring pins, it is possible to dispense with additional centring of the sleeves with respect to one another by means of a further sleeve, for example a coupling sleeve.
The optical connection according to the invention is particularly advantageous for connecting a plurality of optical fibres which are mounted together in a sleeve, since a deviation from an axially symmetrical form is particularly sensible with this connector, since a particularly large amount of space is thereby available for the latching means on the broad sides of the connector halves. However, it is also possible to use the optical connector to connect individual optical fibres.
It is, furthermore, particularly advantageous that the optical connector can also be used with a coupling sleeve. In this case, inner and outer housings are configured correspondingly in such a way that appropriate means are provided for latching and means are provided for opening this latch. The coupling sleeve may be provided in this case with means for latching with only one connector half, but it is also possible for said sleeve to have means for latching with both connector halves. This has the advantage that the coupling sleeve can, for example, be fastened in a backplane, and thus it is only necessary for one of the two connector halves to be accessible for the plugging operation.